6 Year old Mason Rudder had the surprise of a lifetime recently! He dreamed of becoming a Navy SEAL, which will be difficult since he has a rare genetic disorder.

But for a day…a SEAL team made his dream come true.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on this amazing story:

Mason Rudder peppered bullets from a fully automatic M4 rifle into a car, charged through a field while firing an AR-15, and helped build and set off a wall bomb that blew the door off a building.

Though Mason is no war hero, he got to feel like one Sunday. He is 6 years old and dreams of joining the Navy SEALs.

Mason’s parents, George and Suzanne Rudder, former St. Louis County residents who now live near Kansas City, surprised Mason for his birthday by driving across the state to a tactical training center near Farmington, Mo., to shoot and train with a former member of the Navy SEALs.

“He didn’t know until today,” said Suzanne Rudder, 36. “I think he was just stunned when we got here.”

[Read more about Mason’s special day after the video…]

The Post-Dispatch continues: Mason Rudder peppered bullets from a fully automatic M4 rifle into a car, charged through a field while firing an AR-15, and helped build and set off a wall bomb that blew the door off a building.

Though Mason is no war hero, he got to feel like one Sunday. He is 6 years old and dreams of joining the Navy SEALs.

Mason’s parents, George and Suzanne Rudder, former St. Louis County residents who now live near Kansas City, surprised Mason for his birthday by driving across the state to a tactical training center near Farmington, Mo., to shoot and train with a former member of the Navy SEALs.

“He didn’t know until today,” said Suzanne Rudder, 36. “I think he was just stunned when we got here.”

Mason was born with a genetic disorder (Escobar syndrome) that causes limited movement and a decreased range of motion, his parents say. Mason is about 3½ feet tall and weighs just 32 pounds. Mason’s sister, Haley, 7, also has the disorder; their brother, Collin, 9, does not.

Mason’s fascination with the SEALs was fueled in part by the fact that his uncle was a SEAL and his grandfather was in the Air Force. He often plays military games around the house, his father said.

Ogden said he hopes Mason remembers his day as a SEAL for the rest of his life.

“I want to instill in him that there’s a lot of ways to serve,” Ogden said. “You can do it in a uniform. You can do it in a lot of different ways. Mason’s got the heart of a lion, and with that heart and attitude, he’s gonna go far.”

At the end of Mason’s training, Ogden pinned a Navy Seal trident on the boy’s sweatshirt.